RYAN SHERIDAN releases his new album, Here and Now, on Friday August 28. Recorded in Ireland and Germany, it is the follow-up to his Irish platinum selling debut The Day You Live Forever, and as part of his upcoming tour he plays Tuam’s Sugarbeat Festival next weekend and the Róisín Dubh in September.

Galway Hospice will hold its 10th annual Galway Memorial Walk on Sunday September 13. This year’s walk will begin at 12 noon from the Claddagh Hall, following the traditional coastal route to Blackrock and return — a total distance of 6.5km.

At half time last Saturday in Croke Park, with the teams level, most Galway supporters were pleased with their team’s work-rate and performance and even twenty minutes into the second half, those of us in the Cusack and Hogan Stands were still hoping that if Galway could get a goal, or pull a few points in front, it would ask serious questions off Rory Gallagher's men.

The Mayo juniors will get their big day in the sun when they take on Kerry in the All Ireland junior final on Saturday week, after the GAA confirmed the showpiece in the grade will be on the under card of Mayo's senior All Ireland quarter-final in GAA headquarters. Mayo booked their place in the final of the competition last Saturday with a 1-12 to 0-8 win over Kilkenny in Tullamore, and sets up a repeat of the 2012 final meeting between the two sides.

With just a week to go before Mayo head into the All Ireland quarter-final in Croke Park their opponents are still unknown until this weekend's round of action in the qualifiers is completed on Saturday evening. Speaking ahead of the game, joint Mayo manager Noel Connelly said he hoped that Aidan O'Shea gets "fair play" from officials in the upcoming contest and they do award him frees when he is fouled and not let the infractions slide by just because of his size.

Following last Friday's demoralising SSE Airtricity League Premier Division defeat to Bray Wanderers Galway United will be hoping to produce a much improved performance against St Patrick's Athletic at Richmond Park tomorrow.

An acquaintance of mine from Galway and his wife took a few nights away in lovely Westport last February to celebrate Valentine's Day. When he had a few jars taken one evening he went talking football with an older man in his sixties in a local tavern and proceeded to start slagging him about Mayo's defeats in All-Ireland finals since 1989.